


Spider-Man versus Formal Attire

by SeerofHope_KnightofDoom



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Iron Dad, No Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Prom, Short One Shot, Spider-son, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 14:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18780235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeerofHope_KnightofDoom/pseuds/SeerofHope_KnightofDoom
Summary: Peter Parker was a capable, clever young man. Even his acquired arachnid abilities aside, Peter's aptitude got him in to and out of a lot of trouble. On the off chance he couldn't figure something out, the modern library of Alexandria known as the Internet -- or the maternal wisdom of Aunt May -- could usually bail him out.Except, apparently, when it comes to ties.





	Spider-Man versus Formal Attire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Omg_Chloe_Answer_Me_Whoa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omg_Chloe_Answer_Me_Whoa/gifts).



Peter Parker was a capable, clever young man. Even his acquired arachnid abilities aside, Peter's aptitude got him in to and out of a lot of trouble. On the off chance he couldn't figure something out, the modern library of Alexandria known as the Internet -- or the maternal wisdom of Aunt May -- could usually bail him out.

All these resources failed him when it came time for the most stressful event in a teenager's high school career.

Not the next round of inevitable standardized tests. Peter wouldn't call himself a genius, but they weren't a problem. The vast alphabet of college preparatory exams was nothing compared to fighting supervillains. The ACT was nothing compared to the level of stress inspired by fighting Captain America. The SAT was nothing compared to the excitement of fighting alongside Iron Man.  Even  _ that  _ didn't worry him as much as the homecoming dance. But this? This blew that out of the water.

Prom.

He had the tuxedo rented. He had his date, a reservation at a restaurant, the whole nine yards. There was only one thing that was holding him up. He could weave literal webs, swing across the New York skyline, and hold a ship together, but trying to tie a tie was going to be the thing to do him in.

He followed all sorts of videos and couldn't get his fingers to cooperate with him. In hindsight, those energy drinks weren't his most fabulous idea, but he needed the boost. After another late night being Spider-Man, he struggled to wake up this afternoon. He asked Aunt May for help, but Uncle Ben tied his own ties. She bought Peter a well-disguised clip-on tie for previous formal events. Unfortunately, that had since disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle known as his bedroom. As she was walking through the door, an idea came to her that Peter felt was the last possible option.

“Why don't you ask Mr. Stark?”

Why didn't Peter think of that?

It was (in no small part) because the past few times he tried to call Mr. Stark, he got himself rerouted to Happy. Happy was usually very unhelpful at most and only kind of cooperative at best. Still, Peter was running out of time and options.

As May left for work, Peter picked up his phone and clicked Tony’s name on the contact list.

The phone rang several times, but no answer. No Happy, no Ms. Potts -- Mrs. Stark, Peter reminded himself -- and no Mr. Stark.

When he tried again, he met with a feminine voice.

“ _ Hello Mr. Parker, this is FRIDAY. Mr. Stark occupied right now. How may I help you? _ ” She reminded him of the AI in his suit. That familiar, kind, but artificial tone. Like Karen. Nice to talk to when bored, but not quite human. Not like Vision. 

“Uhh, yeah, hi FRIDAY. Listen, umm… When will Mr. Stark be available? I need some help.”

“ _ If this is an emergency, I can put you through to him right now. _ ”

“I… wouldn't call it an emergency, but it's kinda important. Can you... Can you give him a message?”

“ _ Of course. _ ”

“Tell him that… I just need some help with something soon. Like…” Peter checked the time on his phone's clock and felt panic rise when he saw that he needed to get things moving. Thirty minutes.  “...Like really soon, oh no-”

“ _ I'll get it to him right away. Goodbye, Mr. Parker. _ ”

Meanwhile, Tony was sitting in his lab tinkering on the next iteration of the Iron Man suits. He had been true to his word with Pepper and wasn't spending all his time working on them. He automated the process to near entirety. Adding new features -- including the stealth capabilities suggested by Harvey once upon a time -- still needed doing by hand.

He had an early dinner. Pepper, still CEO of Stark Industries, had a late flight and wanted to spend some time with him before she had to go. He had the place to himself after that. His workshop, his music, his tech, FRIDAY and him. It was nice to not be busy for once in what felt like a long time.

Speaking of FRIDAY.

“ _ Boss, Mr. Parker needs your help. _ ”

“What?” He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't panicking a little. More profiteers like that Vulture character were popping up around New York City. Most often, SHIELD or Spider-Man was capable of keeping them from serious damages. “FRIDAY, track his location.”

“ _ The Parker residence. He said it wasn’t urgent, but he sounded distraught. Would you like me to play the recording? _ ”

“No, but start locking things up for the night here. I'm going to Queens.”

“ _ Yes, boss. _ ”

Tony opted to take the armor. It was faster without doubt, and traffic in New York didn't care who was involved, it moved at its own pace.

Worries seeped into his mind as he donned the armor and flew Queens-ward. What was it that the kid needed help with that he didn't tell FRIDAY? It was important enough for her to get a message through to him, but not urgent enough to warrant a distress call. Was he getting robbed? It would explain why he didn't call the police but did call for backup. His life could be on the line.

What if this “Vulture” that acquired Chitauri weapons learned where Peter lived and sent cronies to deal with him? That explained why he didn't deal with it as Spider-Man. Tony was still trying to adjust to the kid's thinking and stance towards a secret identity. He respected it, but still. What if they pinned Peter in that sort of situation?

He flew a little faster. Rhodey could clear it up if the Air Force took offense.

When he arrived at the Parker's, he put the suit on sentry mode and scanned the area for any troubling omens. No signs of breaking-and-entering, no sounds of a struggle. The neighborhood was quiet -- or quiet compared to the rest of New York anyway. Cautious, Tony knocked on the door. “Kid? It's me.”

Peter opened the door. He seemed surprised. “Mr. Stark! Oh thank goodness, I hate to bother you but thank you so much for coming! I didn't know what I was gonna do.”

“What's the problem, kid?”

He averted his gaze. Shame. Tony saw that same look after he reclaimed his high-tech spider suit. “Don't be mad.”

“What is it?”

“Can you tie a tie?”

Tony blinked. A tie. A tie bested the spectacular Spider-Man. The longer he stared at the kid, the more he wanted to laugh. Was this a prank? The kid had pulled a few on him before. Off the top of his head, the kid renamed some of FRIDAY's protocols in retribution for “Baby Monitor” on his suit. Even Tony had to admit that the “Old Man Glasses” protocol was pretty funny.

No. No, Peter was serious. A pang of empathy ran through him. Tony caught some off-hand comments the kid made before about his family -- or lack thereof in his case. When he called in Spider-Man for the assist fighting Steve over the Sokovia Accords, he needed to run background checks. It was necessary to make sure he wasn’t bringing in anyone less stable than himself.  Peter was an orphan living with his aunt and uncle (before Ben’s death.) His parents were agents for SHIELD and he’d never know what happened to them. Not even SHIELD knew what happened to them -- and if they didn’t know, the universe erased that information . It was hard not to project onto the kid after that.

Did that affect his choice to hire Peter as an intern at Stark Industries? Or to bring him in to combat Steve? No. Not through Tony's intention, anyway. There aren’t a whole lot of people on Earth capable of going toe-to-toe with  _ the _ super-soldier. Still, knowing what the kid had been through made it hard not to sympathize at least a little. Pepper was wearing off on him.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice brought Tony out of his thoughts and back to the present. “Did… Did I do something wrong?”

“Yeah, actually,” Tony stated, very matter-of-fact. “You got a black tux, you don’t want to wear a brown tie. Got a black one?"

The look on Peter’s face ran through a gamut of emotions. Fear first, then relief and confusion. “Huh? I mean, I can see what I can find…”

“What’s the occasion anyway? The internship not doin’ it for you anymore?”

“Prom, sir.”

Right. High schooler. It was easy, yet somehow impossibly difficult, to forget that Peter was only seventeen years old. While they both lived a nonstandard childhood, Peter still acted like a teenager. Tony’s life didn’t give him much of an option.

But this wasn’t time for a Stark Industries pity party. Tony shook his head, though smiling a little. “Alright. Who’s the lucky gal? Or guy.”

“Oh… I’m going with Michelle. MJ. I wanted to make it up to her after I messed up homecoming so bad.”

“What color dress is she wearing? You should try to match her.”

“...Red?”

“Are you telling me or asking me?”

“It’s red, sir.”

“Okay, then go find a red tie and give it here.”

Peter ran up to his room and returned after a moment of rummaging around. He handed Tony the tie in question. He shook some of the dust out of it and demonstrated by putting it on himself a few times before giving it back to Peter. “Now you do it.”

With shaking fingers -- Tony could spot someone tweaking out on caffeine a mile away -- Peter repeated the steps. It was messy, but passable for certain. Score one for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! “Like that?”

Tony helped him adjust it, tightening it up to make it a little less loose, and looked over him again. Though he dressed in formal atire, Tony still couldn’t help but see this dorky little kid. He smiled. Cute? It wasn't not the word he was looking for, but Peter looked pretty cute. “Lookin’ pretty sharp there, kid.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Yeah, no problem. When do you have to head out?”

Peter checked his phone and started racing through his house to get the last of his things. “Like five minutes ago!” Peter spoke so fast that it was a miracle he wasn’t tripping over his words. “Okay thank you, Mr. Stark, I really owe you one and I’m sorry I bothered you but thank you so much -- I need to go like now, or MJ’s gonna be angry-”

“Hey!”

“Yeah?”

“Have fun.”  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Guys, this might be one of the most pure things I ever write. Wholesome. I needed it after watching Endgame. Constructive criticism always appreciated! Happy belated birthday once again to Omg_Chloe_Answer_Me_Whoa! Thanks for being an awesome friend and inspiring me to write more often! Here's to you!


End file.
